New Bedford man loses bid to go free based on drug lab scandal

The first hearing ended and the cell door remained closed for a New Bedford man whose drug case is part of the ongoing scandal at the state drug lab.

Superior Court Judge Thomas McGuire refused, on Friday, to lower the $25,000 cash bail that has kept Nathan Martin behind bars since he was arrested in New Bedford on Dec. 8, 2010. Police allege they seized 122 grams of heroin — more than four ounces — when they arrested Martin and raided his home.

Kevin P. O’Connor

The first hearing ended and the cell door remained closed for a New Bedford man whose drug case is part of the ongoing scandal at the state drug lab.

Superior Court Judge Thomas McGuire refused, on Friday, to lower the $25,000 cash bail that has kept Nathan Martin behind bars since he was arrested in New Bedford on Dec. 8, 2010. Police allege they seized 122 grams of heroin — more than four ounces — when they arrested Martin and raided his home.

After the raid, the powder seized was tested by Annie Dookhan, a chemist at the state drug lab in Boston. Dookhan was charged Friday with obstruction of justice.
z Massachusetts State Police investigators alleged Dookhan lied about the work she did — falsifying weights and composition of the drugs she tested and violating lab protocols by forging co-worker initials and signatures on lab results.

That throws a taint on all the work she did, said Rene Brown, a Fall River lawyer who represents Martin. Brown was the first lawyer to file a motion in Bristol County challenging the results of the state drug lab because of the scandal.

District Attorney Sam Sutter estimated there are about 4,000 cases in Bristol County alone in which Dookhan was the primary or secondary chemist.

Brown argued in court Friday that every case Dookhan touched is now tainted. Because of that, Brown said, Martin, 31, should be released on bail while awaiting trial.

To win a conviction against Martin, the prosecution would have to call Dookhan to the stand, Brown said.

“But Annie Dookhan is nothing short of a liar, a cheat and a thief,” Brown said. “Anything that went to that lab is in doubt.

“She is a thief because, at this point, your honor, there is no way the commonwealth can prove, beyond doubt, anything about the contents of anything she touched.”

Brown added: “It is not right to take away his (Martin’s) fundamental right of liberty because of this government malfeasance.”

Thomas Quinn, the first assistant district attorney, argued the case for the prosecution.

Martin, Quinn argued, had a long history of drug convictions and was observed by New Bedford detectives operating a heroin sales operation. He admitted to police he was dealing heroin to support his heroin habit, Quinn said.

“Is it unreasonable to hold this man in custody?” Quinn asked. “When you look at all the facts of this case, releasing him is not appropriate.

“He is a career drug dealer. He poses somewhat of a risk to the community.”

In response, Quinn offered to have all the drugs in the Martin case retested and agreed to an early trial date. Martin is now scheduled for trial on Dec. 3.

The judge ruled that Martin’s past criminal record and the amount of heroin he allegedly held prevented him from lowering the bail.

“These are very serious charges and the defendant has a long history of drug offenses,” McGuire ruled. The judge kept the bail at $25,000 cash.

Brown said she would appeal the ruling.

Though this was the first case, it will not be the last. A dozen lawyers watched the argument Friday, many of them with motions ready to be filed for their clients.

Lawyer Frank Camera said he expected to file nine or 10 motions for clients next week as a result of the drug lab scandal. Most of those clients are from Fall River. Some will ask the state to vacate guilty pleas they offered in drug cases, Camera said.

Those clients are hoping to clear their records so they will be better able to get jobs, Camera said.

Sutter said his office will take the motions on a case-by-case basis until state prosecutors decide how to handle all of the cases involved in the scandal.

State police investigators estimate Dookhan was involved in 35,000 drug cases, most of them from the eastern half of the state, during the eight years she worked for the state Department of Health at its Hinton State Laboratory Institute.

State court officials say they might establish a special court to handle the cases that result from the scandal.

Email Kevin P. O’Connor at koconnor@heraldnews.com.

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